Aquinas Institute - Arete Yearbook (Rochester, NY)

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Well Host Thou Wriffen Concerning Me, Tnomos. Wlwof Snoll I Give Thee os o l?evvorcl3 Nougnf buf Tnyself, O Lord. V 0 6 ZI

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There ls Neither Bond nor Free, For You Are All One in Christ OOKING back over the vista of the last seventy five years since the Emanci- pation Proclamation we become conscious of a mighty paradox, a great indictment, mocking us, and shattering the ideals for which so many human beings gave their lives. These same human beings gave their all to prove that this nation was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. This then is our theory, but how poorly it conforms to our practice! We, in America, who presume to lecture to foreign dictators on tolerance, might well begin to examine our own consciences. lf we indignantly repudiate Nazism and mock the Nordic theory, Why do we conform to the 'tcolor line which poisons our social order and casts a heavy cloud over the lives of countless human beings? As America grows older and her democracy less turbulent and Americans become emotionally secure themselves, they should have no need to bolster a fragile self-esteem by holding their fellow men in contempt. States which have enacted legislative restrictions against the Negro usually protest that they are his best friends, and that they are interested in helping the Negro by establish- ing for him a status which shall be most suited to his needs. Moreover, as the cultural level of the Negro rises, they will be only too happy to accept him on more equal terms and to provide him a better place in society. lf this is sincere, we should expect that such states, such communities, would keep constantly before them the education of the Negro. Yet the facts belie the sincerity of the theory. The facts are that a system of educational segregation has become so intrenched that it has required a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States to awaken these communities to their responsibilities. The evidence is that the Negro has been a more apt pupil in the school of democracy than many are willing to admit. lf he has not been perfect, the fault is with those of us who persistently close our eyes to the truth of what Lord Macaulay wrote many years ago: There is only one cure for the evils which newly acquired freedom produce. The cure is more freedom. Many politicians of our time are in the habit of laying down as a self evident proposition that no people ought to be free until they are fit to use freedom. The maxim is Worthy of the fool in the old story who resolved not to go into the water until he had learned to swim. lf men are to wait for liberty until they become wise and good in slavery, they may indeed wait forever. Lest the reader think that the greater percentage of negro illiterates is paral- lelled by any condition of lesser achievement of intelligence among Negroes generally, one must hasten to add that negro achievement in all educational spheres is most impressive. Negroes have always had a passion for education 22